Roast leg of lamb with real gravy – Willow Creek Style

The leg of Lamb before roasting

The other day we had a leg of Lamb from a butchery in George called Hartmans. Roasted, as simply as possible, it was the finest piece of lamb we have had in a long time. Tender as a mother’s parting words. And delicious with a pot of real gravy to go with it.

The lamb
With a sharp knife, make fine cuts in the fat on the lamb, this will make it release its fat and crisp up. Chop the onions roughly. Place the onions is a roasting pan and place the thy sprigs in the middle of the pan. Season the lamb generously with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Do this on a wooden board and then lift it onto the onions. Roast for 1 hour at 180C and then a further 40 – 60 minutes at 160C until no blood shows when poked with a metal skewer. Remove from the oven place on a rack and cover with a sheet of foil to rest the meat. Remove the thyme sprigs.

The Real Lamb Gravy

The real gravy
In a saucepan place the jam or jelly and the vinegar. Bring them to the boil and caramelise, only to a light caramel. Have ready the crème de cassis and immediately pour it onto the caramel, be quick and careful not to burn yourself. Add the liquid and the onions from the roasting dish and the extra chicken stock, the tomato paste and the beef fond. Do not season with salt and pepper now. Reduce the gravy at least by half so that it is richly flavoured. Add more beef fond if you want to give it bit more oomph. Thicken it with the kneaded butter to your desired thickness. Season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper. If you like, you may strain the gravy at this stage, though I loved the soft onion and texture.

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As a young aspiring chef, Michael laid a solid foundation for his career at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in London. Over the next 30 years he had a series of high profile hospitality management posts, was the Public Relations Manager for Boschendal and ran three successful restaurants in the Cape, one of which, Parks, featured in the national top 10 restaurants.

Michael is a family man, author and broadcaster.

A lifetime devoted to the promotion and appreciation of the South African wine and food industry has earned him many accolades, including the Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Eat Out Awards.

Michael continues to be prolific, informative and entertaining on his wine and food website, michaelolivier.co.za and on his wine site, wine4friends.co.zawhich sells specially chosen wine boxes.